Descent

Descent. "Can I traverse now?"

Lin Yuan felt a surge of joy.

The Door of Myriad Worlds' traversal ability was not without limits.

It needed time to accumulate energy, which manifested as being gradually "lit up."

When he returned from his first traversal, Lin Yuan had received relevant information from the Door of Myriad Worlds.

The Door of Myriad Worlds' illumination was divided into the lighting of the outer edge region, the inner region, and the core region.

Once the outer edge region was lit, traversal could be carried out, though the method would be Consciousness Descent.

Once the inner region was lit, Physical-Body Traversal became possible.

As for the core region being lit, that concerned a certain transformation of the Door of Myriad Worlds.

The information Lin Yuan had received only offered a brief description of this.

The three levels of illumination required increasing amounts of time.

Lighting the edge region took roughly eight months to a year.

Lighting the inner region required several years to a decade.

As for lighting the core region, Lin Yuan estimated—

It would probably take decades, perhaps even centuries.

"I'll directly undergo Consciousness Descent."

Lin Yuan had little interest in Physical-Body Traversal.

First, accumulating enough energy for Physical-Body Traversal took far too long.

Second, Physical-Body Traversal allowed too little room for error. If he died, he would truly be dead.

Compared to that, Consciousness Descent was far more worthwhile.

"Still, I should make some preparations before traversing."

Lin Yuan steadied himself and began making arrangements.

The main thing was to remind his parents that he might "disappear" for a while.

Although there was a difference in the flow of time between higher and lower worlds—

Lin Yuan had no idea what level the world he was about to traverse into would be.

If the difference in time flow was small, and he spent several decades over there while several years passed in the Main World—

That would be troublesome as well.

After making all the necessary preparations—

Lin Yuan left the underground training ground and arrived before a room.

"After this traversal, I should be able to deduce the Martial Path of Evolution to Tier 2."

"By then, if I continue uploading it to the Goddess of Wisdom, the Merit Points I receive should be enough to raise my citizen rank to Third Level Citizen."

Lin Yuan thought to himself.

As early as half a year ago, Lin Yuan had uploaded the improved Mythic Chapter and Carefree Chapter of the Martial Scripture.

He had received a reward of three thousand Merit Points.

At the same time, the Martial Path of Evolution's ranking on the Azure Wave Evolution Chart had risen from ninety-third place to seventy-eighth.

The hundred Evolutionary Paths on the Azure Wave Evolution Chart had been ranked by the Goddess of Wisdom through immense computational power, taking into account their potential, prevalence, difficulty of cultivation, and many other factors.

When the Martial Scripture only had the Grandmaster Chapter and Great Grandmaster Chapter, it ranked ninety-third. With the addition of the Mythic Chapter and Carefree Chapter, its overall potential had further increased, so its ranking naturally rose as well.

It could be predicted that once the Martial Path of Evolution officially broke through to Tier 2, its ranking would definitely rise another level.

After all, the leap from First Order to Tier 2 was a qualitative change in a major realm, a great transition recognized by Cosmic Human Civilization.

Altogether, uploading the Martial Path of Evolution had provided Lin Yuan with five thousand Merit Points.

Advancing to Second Level Citizen had cost one thousand Merit Points.

He still had four thousand Merit Points remaining.

Advancing from Second Level Citizen to Third Level Citizen required five thousand Merit Points.

"Let's begin."

Lin Yuan pushed open the door.

He walked over to a two-meter-long Nutrient Cabin.

During his first traversal, Lin Yuan had had no choice. Mandatory Conscription had weighed upon him, so he could only grit his teeth and traverse directly.

Fortunately, he had been lucky. He spent twenty years in the Martial Arts World, while only a little over ten minutes had passed in the Main World.

But now, Lin Yuan naturally could not leave everything to chance.

He had purchased this Nutrient Cabin through Chairman Liao's channels. It was of military quality.

Once activated, it could last for no less than two hundred years.

In other words, as long as Lin Yuan lay inside, unless he rose of his own accord, the nutrients within the cabin could sustain his body for two hundred years.

That gave Lin Yuan a strong sense of security. At the very least, he would not return from traversal to find this body starved down to skin and bones.

After recalling how to use the Nutrient Cabin, Lin Yuan opened the lid and lay down inside.

"Traverse."

Lin Yuan immersed his mind in the Door of Myriad Worlds deep within his consciousness.

In an instant, an invisible pulling force descended.

Lin Yuan only felt his consciousness rapidly falling.

Zhang Family Fortress.

It was decorated with lanterns and colorful banners.

The atmosphere was incredibly festive.

Everyone in the fortress knew that Fort Master Zhang's wife had given birth to a child—a boy.

Before this, Madam Zhang had given birth to eight daughters in a row, and all sorts of gossip had been flying about.

"You've worked hard, my wife."

Inside the room, Zhang Kun excitedly set down the swaddled infant and looked toward the frail woman lying on the bed, speaking with pain in his voice.

"It wasn't hard, Brother Zhang. This is our child."

Madam Zhang's face was somewhat pale, but she still forced herself to sit up, taking the swaddled baby into her arms. Her gaze was filled with tenderness.

The two spent some time in quiet affection.

Then Madam Zhang brought up something important.

"Husband, the Myriad Demons Sect has been restless recently and seems to be moving closer this way. Have you informed the Daoists of Dragon Tiger Mountain?"

"Don't worry, my wife." Zhang Kun patted his chest.

"I sent someone to deliver a letter to Changqing Daoist long ago. He should be arriving soon."

After saying that, Zhang Kun paused before continuing, "Besides, what is there to fear from the Myriad Demons Sect? Your husband is considered a first-rate expert of the martial world. How could I fear those demon spawn?"

Zhang Kun's tone brimmed with powerful confidence.

"Looks like I was born into a decent situation this time."

What Zhang Kun and his wife did not know was that, as they conversed—

The infant wrapped in swaddling clothes opened his eyes, revealing a depth that did not belong to someone his age.

That infant was naturally Lin Yuan. From the couple's brief conversation, Lin Yuan concluded that his father in this life likely held a fairly respectable social position.

At the very least, when he had just been born, they had hired no fewer than five midwives, with more than a dozen maidservants attending them besides.

No ordinary person could manage that in any world.

As he thought, Lin Yuan began to feel sleepy.

When Lin Yuan opened his eyes again, he heard an extremely chaotic clamor.

The door was tightly shut, but sounds of fighting could be heard outside.

His mother's face was full of anxiety.

"What's going on?"

Lin Yuan widened his eyes.

Hadn't everything been fine just now?

How had things become like this?

When his mother saw Lin Yuan awaken—

She immediately sat beside him, tears in her eyes. "My child, eight Helm Masters from the Myriad Demons Sect have come to attack. Your father and the fortress's experts have gone out to fight them."

"They'll definitely drive back the Myriad Demons Sect."

Holding Lin Yuan, his mother seemed less to be comforting her child than comforting herself.

A moment later—

The door was pushed open.

His father, Zhang Kun, staggered inside, covered in blood.

"Brother Zhang, how is it outside now?"

His mother, Su Yun, hurriedly asked.

"We can't hold them off. The Myriad Demons Sect didn't just send eight Helm Masters. There's also a Dharma Protector hiding in the shadows. Our Zhang Family Fortress... the Zhang Family Fortress is finished."

Zhang Kun looked utterly ashen.

He had never imagined that the Myriad Demons Sect would dispatch a Dharma Protector just to deal with the Zhang Family Fortress.

Anyone who could become a Dharma Protector of the Myriad Demons Sect was at least beyond the level of a first-rate martial expert.

"What should we do now?"

After falling silent for a while, Su Yun asked.

"You two should leave."

Zhang Kun went behind the bed and lightly slapped it, revealing a tunnel.

"This tunnel leads ten li away. Take the child and go far away. Don't ever come back in this lifetime."

After opening the tunnel, Zhang Kun seemed to lose all the strength in his body and nearly collapsed to the floor.

"Brother Zhang, let's go together. Let's leave this place together."

Su Yun glanced at the tunnel before immediately looking toward Zhang Kun.

"I can't go."

Zhang Kun shook his head. "That Dharma Protector from the Myriad Demons Sect struck me with a palm. My heart meridians are severed. I won't live much longer."

Zhang Kun looked at Lin Yuan, his voice softening. "I had even thought of a name for you. Shanfeng—so you could become the mountain peak of my Zhang Family Fortress."

"Unfortunately, there will be no future."

After saying that, Zhang Kun took out a jade pendant and tucked it into the swaddling clothes.

Two characters were engraved on the front of the jade pendant.

Shanfeng.

After doing all this, Zhang Kun raised his head and looked at his wife, Su Yun.

"When the child grows up, don't tell him of his origins."

"Let him live an ordinary life. Never let him think of avenging me."

With that, Zhang Kun directly pushed Su Yun into the tunnel.